In order to produce farinaceous pastes such as those used for various types of pasta, intense mixing and kneading are necessary to create correct paste homogeneity. Because farinaceous paste is denser than other paste such as used in breads or cakes, devices to mix and knead farinaceous paste were specifically designed to overcome obstacles associated with the need for intense mixing and kneading. For example, the high torque necessary to drive mixing shafts was overcome by utilizing larger motors, and the process of kneading was simplified by adding a kneading blade to the mixing shaft. Furthermore, the process of extruding the paste into pasta noodles has been combined with the same apparatus used for mixing and kneading. One common characteristic of machines capable of mixing, kneading and extruding is that such machines have ordinarily been designed for use at the industrial level for production of large volumes of food pastes.
In recent years, there has been an increased demand for smaller scale devices having the ability to make farinaceous pastes within the home. Such devices must substantially depart from previous methods because it is well known that large and bulky industrial devices cannot be used in the average domestic kitchen. It is one object of this invention to provide a simple yet effective means for producing smaller volumes of pasta or other food pastes within the constraints of a common domestic kitchen. It is yet another object to provide an apparatus which can simultaneously mix, knead, and extrude the food paste into the desired pasta shape. It is another object to provide for an apparatus in which mixing and kneading can occur at continually varying levels within a container having food paste.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,318 to Cavalli discloses a pasta making machine usable in the home. This invention employs the use of a plurality of mixing blades, a scraper blade, and a kneading blade in which all said blades are attached to a central shaft which rotates within a container. This invention makes use of a biasing means on the kneading blade to maintain pressure on the food paste such that the paste is kneaded to the correct homogeneity. The biasing means biases only the kneading blade while the remaining elements remain in fixed relation to a bottom wall of the container. The kneading blade is designed such that the trailing blade edge is positioned at a closer distance to the bottom wall of the container than that of the leading blade edge. Once the paste is mixed and kneaded, it is transferred to an extrusion chamber whereby an extrusion screw pushes the paste through a set of dies having the cross sectional shape of the desired pasta noodle.
While the prior art may be useful for its intended purpose, the art is absent of any device for home use in which mixing and kneading can take place at variable levels within a container due to a vertical biasing of both mixing and kneading blades. Furthermore, the prior art is absent of any device in which the kneading blade can achieve proper kneading action without having to mount the blade such that the trail and leading edges of the blade are positioned at varying distances from the bottom wall of the mixing container.